In everyday Lebanese, عزمʿazam means “invite” or, in the right hospitality context, “treat.” The invited person is a direct object; the meal, event, or destination normally follows على: عزم رفيقه عالعشا “he invited his friend to dinner,” عزمونا عالعرس “they invited us to the wedding.”
English invite can be followed by to a place, to an event, or to do something. Lebanese packages ordinary social invitations around a person plus على + noun/place. Learn that whole frame rather than translating the English preposition mechanically.
Perfect paradigm
عزم is a strong Form I verb. Its perfect keeps the three root consonants; the short linking vowel varies with the person ending.
| Person | Form | Reading |
|---|---|---|
| أنا | عزمت | ʿazamt |
| إنت | عزمت | ʿazamt |
| إنتي | عزمتي | ʿazamte |
| هو | عزم | ʿazam |
| هي | عزمت | ʿazamit |
| نحنا | عزمنا | ʿazamna |
| إنتو | عزمتوا | ʿazamto |
| هني | عزموا | ʿazamo |
عزمت الجيران عالقهوة بعد ما نقلنا.
ʿazamt el-zhīrēn ʿal-ʾahwe baʿd ma nʾalna.
I invited the neighbors for coffee after we moved. (informal; person object plus meal)
عزمتنا لينا عالغدا ببيتها الجديد.
ʿazamitna Līna ʿal-ghada b-bēta l-zhdīd.
Lina invited us to lunch at her new home. (informal; feminine perfect plus object clitic)
عزموا كل الفريق عحفلة نهاية المشروع.
ʿazamo kill el-farīʾ ʿa-ḥaflet nihāyet el-mashrūʿ.
They invited the whole team to the end-of-project party. (neutral; event complement)
b-imperfect and bare imperfect
The imperfect principal part is بيعزمbyiʿzem. The b-series describes customary hosting or an independently asserted invitation. The bare series follows رح، بدّي، لازم، فيني and purpose markers.
| Person | b-imperfect | Bare imperfect |
|---|---|---|
| أنا | بعزم baʿzem | اعزم iʿzem |
| إنت | بتعزم btiʿzem | تعزم tiʿzem |
| إنتي | بتعزمي btiʿzme | تعزمي tiʿzme |
| هو | بيعزم byiʿzem | يعزم yiʿzem |
| هي | بتعزم btiʿzem | تعزم tiʿzem |
| نحنا | منعزم mniʿzem | نعزم niʿzem |
| إنتو | بتعزموا btiʿzmo | تعزموا tiʿzmo |
| هني | بيعزموا byiʿzmo | يعزموا yiʿzmo |
كل صيف منعزم رفقاتنا عسهرة عالبلكون.
kill ṣēf mniʿzem rifʾātna ʿa-sahre ʿal-balkōn.
Every summer we invite our friends over for an evening on the balcony. (informal; recurring hospitality)
رح يعزموكن عالافتتاح الرسمي الأسبوع الجايي.
raḥ yiʿzmūkon ʿal-iftitēḥ er-rasme l-osbūʿ el-zhēye.
They'll invite you all to the official opening next week. (neutral; bare form plus plural object clitic)
بدنا نعزم أهلها عالعشا ونتعرف عليهن.
baddna niʿzem ahla ʿal-ʿasha w-nitʿarraf ʿalēhon.
We want to invite her family to dinner and get to know them. (informal; bare first-person plural)
People, meals, events, and homes
The person is direct even when a noun names the person: عزمت رامي. With pronouns, use the ordinary object suffixes: عزمني، عزمك، عزمه، عزمها، عزمنا، عزمكن، عزمن. The social occasion then follows على.
| Frame | Typical meaning | Example phrase |
|---|---|---|
| عزم حدا عالغدا | invite someone to lunch | meal |
| عزم حدا عالعرس | invite someone to the wedding | event |
| عزم حدا عالبيت | invite someone home/over | destination |
| عازم حدا | be treating/hosting someone | hospitality stance |
عزمناهن عالبيت نهار الأحد كرمال يتعرفوا عالعيلة.
ʿazamnāhon ʿal-bēt nhār el-aḥad kermēl yitʿarrafo ʿal-ʿēle.
We invited them over on Sunday so they could meet the family. (informal; plural object clitic and destination)
An invitation to perform an action can often be expressed as an occasion rather than an English-style infinitive: عزمته عالقهوة لنحكي “I invited him for coffee so we could talk.” For an official request to speak, participate, or submit something, طلب منه or دعاه may be more precise (formal).
Hospitality and who pays
In restaurant and café contexts, أنا عازمك commonly means “I'm treating you / this is on me.” The active participle عازمʿāzem, feminine عازمة, plural عازمين, presents the invitation or hosting commitment as current. Whether an ordinary invitation implies payment depends on situation and local expectations; the explicit phrase أنا عازمك strongly foregrounds the host paying. More meal-opening and guest-response formulas appear in the hospitality expressions guide.
خلي الحساب عليي، أنا عازمك اليوم.
khalle l-ḥsēb ʿalayye, ana ʿāzmak el-yōm.
Leave the bill to me—I'm treating you today. (informal; masculine addressee and active participle)
The result/passive participle is معزومmaʿzūm, feminine معزومة, plural معزومين: it describes someone as invited. It is often more natural than an eventive passive when current guest status is what matters. انعزم “got/was invited” also occurs in conversational Lebanese, while formal دُعي belongs to formal Arabic.
نحنا معزومين ععرس بطرابلس آخر الشهر.
niḥna maʿzūmīn ʿa-ʿores b-Ṭrāblos ākhir esh-shaher.
We're invited to a wedding in Tripoli at the end of the month. (informal; plural invited status)
انعزمت عالعشا بآخر لحظة وما لحقت جيب هدية.
inʿazamt ʿal-ʿasha b-ākhir laḥẓa w-ma lḥiʾt zhīb hadiyye.
I got invited to dinner at the last minute and didn't have time to bring a gift. (informal; eventive passive-like form)
Imperative and clitic forms
The commands are اعزمiʿzem, اعزميiʿzme, and اعزمواiʿzmo. Negative commands use ما تعزم. Because invitation normally targets a person, clitics are especially frequent.
اعزميها عالقهوة وخبريها إنو نحنا ناطرينها.
iʿzmīha ʿal-ʾahwe w-khabbirīha inno niḥna nāṭrīna.
Invite her for coffee and tell her we're waiting for her. (informal; feminine command with object clitic)
ما تعزموهن قبل ما نتأكد من عدد الكراسي.
ma tiʿzmūhon ʾabl ma nitʾakkad min ʿadad el-karēse.
Don't invite them before we confirm the number of chairs. (informal; plural negative command)
Common Mistakes
❌ عزمت لرامي عالعشا.
Incorrect — the invited person is a direct object, not introduced by لـ.
✅ عزمت رامي عالعشا نهار الجمعة.
ʿazamt Rāme ʿal-ʿasha nhār el-zhomʿa.
I invited Rami to dinner on Friday.
❌ رح بيعزمنا عالافتتاح.
Incorrect — رح selects bare يعزم.
✅ رح يعزمنا عالافتتاح بس يتأكد من الموعد.
raḥ yiʿzemna ʿal-iftitēḥ bass yitʾakkad min el-mawʿed.
He'll invite us to the opening once he confirms the date.
❌ أنا معزومك اليوم، يعني أنا رح إدفع.
Incorrect role — معزوم describes the invited guest, not the host.
✅ أنا عازمك اليوم، خلي المصاري بجيبتك.
ana ʿāzmak el-yōm, khalle l-maṣāre b-zhēbtak.
I'm treating you today; keep your money in your pocket.
❌ عزم يعني قرر بكل حديث لبناني.
Incorrect register transfer — ‘resolve/decide’ is a formal Arabic sense; ordinary Lebanese invitation uses عزم, while deciding is قرر.
✅ قررنا نعزم الجيران عسهرة زغيرة.
ʾarrarna niʿzem el-zhīrēn ʿa-sahre zghīre.
We decided to invite the neighbors over for a small evening gathering.
Key Takeaways
Learn ʿazam–byiʿzem–iʿzem with the frame person + على + meal/event/place. The person is direct and readily appears as an object suffix. Active عازم profiles the host and can mean “treating”; معزوم profiles the invited guest. In formal contexts, keep the invitation sense separate from formal Arabic عزم “resolve.”
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Start learning Arabic →Related Topics
- Form I as a Lexical BaseB1 — Learn Form I through perfect–nonpast principal parts, lexical vowel classes, real complement frames, and the contrast between events and states.
- Direct-Object Suffixes on VerbsB1 — Attach Beirut direct-object pronouns to perfect and imperfect verbs, including weak, geminate, and vowel-final hosts and topical doubling.
- على: On, To, and AboutA1 — Use على for support, destinations, responsibility, selected topics, and obligation-like relations, including its irregular suffix forms.
- Form I Passive ParticiplesB1 — Build and use common Form I passive participles for affected states, including weak-root and lexicalized forms.
- Days, Seasons, Meals, and Recurring EventsA2 — Use Lebanese articles with calendar days, seasons, routine meals, holidays, and repeated time expressions.
- Hospitality, Food Offers, and Blessing FormulasA2 — Welcome, serve, accept, decline, compliment food, and close a Lebanese visit through reusable offer-and-uptake sequences.